Arcade Church Service 5-10-20

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] and [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] happy Mother's Day RK mom's happy Father's Day [Music] hey good morning RK Church man we're so excited that you chose to join us this morning my name is Michael Lin and I have the privilege of welcoming you into our virtual service hey one of the things we want you to know is that in the midst of all of this flux and this change in what may feel unsettling we want you to know that our kid church's mission is still on point and that is to get as many people to hear see and follow Jesus and the cool thing about that mission is that it's not dependent upon the physicality of a building right God's message is going to continue to go out as we continue to stream these services and so we are overjoyed that you chose to spend this time with us and we're excited about what God's gonna do in this time hey if this is your first time talking all right first time rather jump in online with us and in coming to our Cade church we want you to know that you are welcome here and we want this to be a place that that you feel like you belong and so help us do that help us by texting arcade guests two four eight four eight four eight and by doing that you're gonna allow us to reach back out to you we just would love to connect with you that's a big thing on our hearts here at arcade another big thing in our hearts at arcade is the power of prayer and I have the privilege of serving alongside some of the other elders here at RK Church and one of the things we just wanted to mention to you and make loud and clear is that in the midst of again some of this unsettling stuff we're we're digging in and we're meeting on a weekly basis we typically in our normal rhythm are meeting about once a month but we are meeting once a week on Sunday mornings to just bathe the congregation in prayer and just be considering what God has for us as we continue to move forward you can hear from Beth also about some prayer that the staff is is doing but we just wanted you to know from the other board that we are with you that we were praying for you and that we love you as a congregation also the staff the Deacons the elders we are praying for and with you and we want to continue doing that the easiest way to send us a prayer request is to text arcade prayer two four eight four eight four eight or you can go on our website arcade Church comm slash prayer while you're on our website take a look around check out the staff and elders page that's a great way to get in contact with us you can also send us an email to info at our K church comm if you have more questions now let's continue worshiping together [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Oh because [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] hey Beth how are you good morning Michael and great how are you doing you know I'm doing really well and we kick off our announcements wanted to just jump into one of the cool things that I know you created or helped create here which is the arcades kids page and I don't know about you but I know that there's been a lot of disruption if you will in the schooling area and I know parents are having to kind of reinvent this whole homeschooling thing and some of them may not be used to that and what we wanted to do here at church was help parents kind of flex their muscles a little bit and equip them to really engage the gospel with their kids and on the arcades kids page that can either be accessed through the website or through the app and that's you guys have done an incredible job at giving resources from activity sheets to different music worship music different lessons in fact I saw some of the same lessons that when I've led Sunday school you guys are uploading those so parents have that as well and this really cool I'm gonna highlight is it parents if you haven't seen again sermon bingo make sure you check that out because it's a great way for your kids to engage pastor Craig is he's given his lesson during our Sunday morning times together again really cool thing but but Beth I'm a little bummed because as I'm looking at the arcade sermon bingo for kids I'm thinking man this would be cool for the adults too well you know what we've heard that not just from you and so all of the sermon notes are now available not just on the web site but also pull the app up on your phone and you can take notes right in your app and it will save them for you oh man that's very cool that's that's awesome because we're all about trying to get you the tools that you need to engage here hey here's another thing that I noticed Beth and I'm sure you're seeing it too pastor Craig is just killing it on the sermons and they've been really convicting for me I know we've had lots of conversations in our house how's that been for you yeah and not just the sermons but I've been checking out day and night as many mornings and as many evenings as I can it is a great way to start in in each day not just with the Lord but with my arcade brothers and sister hey bet speaking of day and night and sermon and an awesome content we want you to know too there are our pastors wanna be able to engage with you as well so if you have any questions about something that comes up during day and night or even during our sermons here on Sunday morning please don't hesitate to reach out and you can reach out by texting arcade follow two four eight four eight four eight or you can also find an opportunity that on the website as well Michael what we're so excited about is our new front desk coordinator have you met her yet yeah you know what Jen Benson phenomenal and her husband Brian they come all the way from Washington they made the trek down and I know some of you're like man this is a crazy time to jump into a new position but we can't say enough about how valuable they have been to our team and keeping us connected with you and engaging in some some communication out to the congregation yeah and we want to introduce her to you so take a look at this [Music] err Kade I am so excited for you to get to meet one of my newest friends today and her name is Jen Benson Jen serves as the new front desk coordinator here at arcade Church and I know she's been calling a lot of you and I can't wait for you to get to know more about her hey Jen why don't you tell us a little bit about your family story so I've been married to my husband Brian for about twenty five years and we have one daughter that we adopted sanusha and I was looking forward to getting married soon and that's pretty much our family what does it like to move to a brand new area and maybe even two have you been shown love by your neighbors at this time well it has been interesting and so we believe in community and we're really excited to be somewhere where we could invest in and so we moved down here at the beanie of March and started work here and the quarantine came into the fact a week later and so it was a unique challenge to figure out how we were going to reach out to people that we didn't know and also see how other people were interacting with us so we had people that would call and check in that I admit working here and then for texts or did someone invite us to do Yahtzee game night via FaceTime and again just little things like that one of my volunteers actually called and checked on me to see how I was doing and so it has been amazing that even though we are new here the community the body of Christ was instantaneous brothers and sisters that just really made it feel like we had always been here so it was a blessing that is so cool and what a testament to feel so we a testament to the goodness of the Lord right knowing exactly what we're gonna need and I know many of you people at home or are wondering now what you can do to love your neighbors and you think it has to be complex but something so simple as a phone call or a Yahtzee game can be used by the Lord to make somebody feel just feel known if you want to hear more about Jen's across America trip or her love of all things sci-fi check out the staff web yeah hey that awesome stuff and and you know we really want to keep pushing content so if you hear about a way that somebody you know is loving on the community and spreading the love of Christ to our community here please don't hesitate to email us that information that story and let us know and that's it info dark a church online.com yeah and you know what Michael we're going to switch now into our time of giving and just a reminder this is a form of worship this is how we think about how grateful we are of our Savior and the beautiful gift of salvation he's given us and we give back just a portion of our monetary gifts he's given to us so if you are a regular attender or member of Arcade Church we're going to continue worship worshiping through giving now yeah and just just a quick reminder guys for ways to give here at Arcade shirts you can either go to the website and and you can you can give through our website you can go to our app actually and there's a tab that you can you can give through there you can text arcade gift two four eight four eight four eight or if you want you can just go ahead and mail a check or send cash straight into the church office here again I think they're gonna have the web store the address up on on the screen yeah will you pray over our offering you bet probably God thank you that you are here Lord we acknowledge that this is your time to learn to speak to the hearts of those that are listening and so we invite you in to do that I pray that the offering that is taken today would have Kingdom impact father that goes both locally here in Sacramento and and beyond what we know that there is nothing that happens father in this world that you don't see and we know that you love deeply your people and we just ask that you again you would multiply these gifts for the betterment of your kingdom your name we pray amen all right well it's been a great morning so far worshiping together we want to stay connected with you so please shoot us an email send us a message on Facebook let us know how you are staying active what you're doing for fun maybe tag us in your posts on Instagram we'd love to see what you guys are up to yeah so excited that you guys chose to worship here this morning with us we love you were praying for you and we're excited to see what God we miss you [Music] someone cuz [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] six [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] I count on one thing the same God who never fails will not fail me now you won't fail me now in the waiting the same God who's never late is working all things out you're working all things yes I will let you hide [Music] bless your name [Music] for joy [Music] [Music] [Music] the same God never failed [Music] see who's never late forgetting all things are you're working on [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] I choose to to glorify glorify the name of the nothing can stand against and I choose to [Music] by the name of [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] my day [Music] so [Music] good morning arcade family so great to have you with us today it's still different it's still kind of weird isn't it to be together but yet not be together I look forward to that day sometime hopefully in the near future when we can be all under the same roof and we can be able to be in the courtyard enjoying one another being the children's ministry area youth ministry area doing what we've enjoyed doing for so many years and that's gather together but again that's not the purpose of the church is the purpose of the church is not the gathering it's the scattering and so this is what we're continuing working on if anything this has given us a runway to be able to scatter the Church of Jesus Christ the gospel to our neighbors in a way that we never probably would if this hadn't happened and so I hope that you're finding ways to communicate to connect with your neighbors your co-workers who may not know Jesus we're in a series right now called abide and we really haven't spent a lot of time on the word itself abide and I want to talk a few minutes about it because it has very significant meaning first of all it it just means rest when you're abiding in someone there is this complete and absolute reliance you're just this yielding us and rest but then there's another side to the word abide that is very important and it you might surprise you but it's the word work on one side abide means rest on the other side it means work and the whole point is I don't know about you but I'm learning quickly it takes a lot of work to rest it takes effort to rest to stop the the best picture I can think of is for those of you who have children at home and you put your child down for a night sleep and the child is convinced that there is thing in the closet or under the bed that is scaring them and it's worrying them and you you assure them you say no there's nothing in the closet there's no one of the bad let's look no nothing there look under the bed nothing there you walk out the child's still afraid and so finally you recognize that what the child needs is not your assurance what they need is your presence and so you come in and like I did numerous times you lie down beside your child and they they just put their head on your chest and they're resting but they're still afraid they're trusting in your reliance they're completely reliant upon you but it takes effort for them to trust you and that's what happens when we abide in Christ he wants it to completely rely on him to place all of our reliance all of our rests all of our peace on Jesus that's abiding but let's face it that takes work it takes effort for us it takes time to remember what we are to do and how we are to rest in him that's why we're talking about this and one of the reasons why we're covering the life of crises last few months we've talked about some of Jesus teaching some of the difficult things that Jesus said that we wish he hadn't said we're talking about his birth we've talked about his death we've talked about his resurrection we've even talked about his ascension and then last Sunday we talked about the gift of his Spirit coming into every single believer so that the Christian life is lived from the inside out but that's not all of the work of Christ it's all the work of Christ and redemption but he's not done by just giving us his spirit yes he ascended but yes he is also going to return and I want to show you a passage we already looked at a couple of weeks ago it's an Acts chapter 1 and it says this and Jesus is ascending to the Father he is just lifted up and a cloud has taken him and so the disciples are looking up and this is what Luke mentions here and while they were gazing into heaven as he went behold two men stood by them in white robes and said men of Galilee why did he Stan looking into heaven this Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven guys why are you looking up I mean you're looking up and as you saw this physical Jesus that's resurrected Jesus rise into the heavens and be taken into this cloud the presence of God understand this that there will be a day as you have just seen the physical leaving this physical departure of Jesus there will be a day when there is a physical return of Jesus and that's what I want to talk to you about today and how important that is during times like this where we need to have our eyes on the horizon because I don't know about you but it's really easy for me to have my eyes on my circumstances have my eyes on my checking account have my eyes on my salary or my employment have my eyes on fear that the news agencies want me to have it's very easy for me to have my eyes pointed down and what the return of Christ does it lifts up our eyes so let's pray about that okay Lord God we love you and we thank you we thank you for the promises of Jesus Christ not just what he did for us on the cross and the empty tomb not just the gift of his spirit to us but Lord we're gonna focus our thoughts now on something that is so incredible to us but the same way Jesus left this earth physically he will return physically and father from many of us that just leaves our head scratching we just what what is going on here and for others of us there's just no way we can ever wrap our minds around and yet for others is come Lord Jesus so whichever we are father we ask for blessings we ask for wisdom we ask for clarity in the holy name of Christ we pray and everyone said amen if you have your Bibles would you please turn to first Thessalonians the book of first Thessalonians one of the smaller letters of the Apostle Paul towards the book of Revelation if you get past acts and Corinthians you'll hit first Thessalonians okay go to first Thessalonians chapter four and we're gonna look at a passage here that I think is very very important for us it's one that I use a lot quite frankly in funerals of Christians because it kind of plays for that specifically before we get to the passage itself Paul is writing this for the purpose of encouraging these Thessaloniki and Christians they're concerned about a couple of things and so he he bookends a passage that we're gonna look at this morning with encouragement for example look at 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 18 he wraps up what he says in chapter 4 therefore encourage one another with these words so whatever he says prior to this he's saying this for the sole purpose of encouraging them but then a little bit later on in chapter 5 in essence he says the same thing in verse 11 therefore encourage one another and build one another up just as you're doing all right so what is this about Paul what what is this encouragement about what is this building up about what's it for it's about the return of Christ he wants these Thessalonica and Christians to be encouraged about Jesus coming back well how does that work out winter what are some things that we can learn about the return of Christ I've got just three things for us to learn from this text and I think it's very very important for us especially now during shelter-in-place when everything is so up in the air the first one is this Jesus return is certain so be hopeful because Jesus is coming back you and I in Christ we can be hopeful we can have our eyes lifted up look at what he says in verse 13 of chapter 4 but we do not want you to be uninformed brothers about those who are asleep by the way Paul in this text he uses the word asleep three different times to refer to death he doesn't use the word death he doesn't he just says yeah this person's asleep we say that a lot of times even today in talking about death we have all kinds of euphemisms about death for Paul his was a sleepy three different times we do not want to be on inform brothers about those who are asleep that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope this was the concern of the Thessaloniki and Christians they had heard what the Bible teaches about what Jesus said or what those two men said in Acts chapter one they heard that Jesus is coming back they have been taught that Paul probably even taught them that that Jesus is going to return and their pomp they're excited as you and I would be excited because we're thinking when when they're talking about the return we're talking about maybe Thursday or or maybe June or maybe in 2021 or something like that when we hear this someone is going to return but the problem was in the Church of Thessalonica brother so-and-so was dying sister so-and-so was dying and they love Jesus and there was no theology of Christians who died there's there's no biblical teaching on what happens to believers in Jesus who fall asleep and they're concerned does this mean since brother so-and-so died and sister so-and-so died does this mean Paul but they're not going to be ready for the return of Christ and Paul's no no no you're fine you're fine he goes on verse 14 for since we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so through Jesus God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep real quick when someone dies the loved ones grieve whether they're believers or not and many times the grief looks very much the same open crying tears doubled over because we're such in pain because of grief but Paul says there is a difference though between believers who grieve and non-believers who grieve and it's not the expression of that grief it's the foundation it's the anchor those who are in Christ will grieve differently why he says here in verse 14 because there is a tomb in Jerusalem that was occupied and is now empty that is the certainty if Jesus Christ certainly rose from the grave he is saying than those who have died they too will rise he says as much for since we believe that G go back I'm sorry for since we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so through Jesus God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep for this we declared to you by a word from the Lord that we who are alive who are left until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep let me ask you a question how many of you have loved ones who have died in the Lord I'm at that age right now where I've got a lot of relatives most of whom are believers in Jesus Christ and I've gone to their funerals and I have wept because I miss them I miss my mom dearly but the thing that keeps my eyes on the horizon is that there will be a day when she is going to come back with Jesus and her soul and her body that is buried in Boise Idaho will reunite how that works I don't know I don't know how that works but she is going to rise before I even meet with Jesus that's what Paul here is saying he's saying those who have died in Christ don't worry because Jesus rose physically from the grave they too will rise physically from the grave you can have that assurance and the only assurances Paul is not saying hey listen take my word for it he's saying Jesus rose my mom will run rise your children will rise your loved ones will rise they will all rise why because Jesus rose and you can be certain about that and because you can be certain about that there is nothing but hope but then he goes on in verse 16 for the Lord Himself okay now how is that gonna happen Paul what's going on here how's it gonna work he's gonna tell us for the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with the cry of command with the voice of an archangel and with the sound of the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first there's preferential treatment for those who have died Christ then we who are alive who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord Paul says you you can take this to the bank it's not because I'm an apostle and you've got to take my word for it it is because Jesus Christ rose and all Paul is doing for them and for you and me is getting our eyes up on the horizon because we are faced with so much uncertainty there is such a lack of clear everything seems blurred nobody knows what's gonna happen including those who have authority over us and so for the first time in our life we are at a loss in a way that we've never been before and that can breed in us fear and what Jesus calls us to do is abide abide in this and the certainty that he will return that's what gives us hope that resonates with us even if you're not a Christian and you're your on line with us thank you for being with us but that resonates with you because we love stories about people who have hope think about think about sports movies every sport movie that we love has to do with insurmountable odds but yet the person rises above the ashes and they have hope let me give you some examples here here are some images we remember this story of America have you seen the movie a miracle it's a great story about the 1980 hockey team that against insurmountable odds these these amateur college guys are going again up against the Soviet Union and the checklist of auctions and all of these incredible hockey players and we'd have a chance and everybody wrote them off and they were saying well I hope they don't embarrass us and yet these guys these kids were saying we weren't in this to win and we love that story it's an incredible story how about this one Rudy Rudy Rudy remember that story of the store this guy he's undersized all he wants to do he doesn't want to be the star of Notre Dame football he just wants to suit up he was to be part of the team and people resonate how how can you have a sports movie about a guy who's not a very good athlete and yet that's what this is about why because of the hope that he had this hope that he could be able to suit up and be a Notre Dame football player and we love that story why his eyes are on the horizon someone else's eyes on the horizon this guy how about Rocky Balboa this is the first of the 35 Rocky movies that we've seen Rocky Balboa and what's his goal his eyes on the horizon and he says I don't want to win I just want to go the distance then people will know I'm not a bum I just that was his goal against Apollo Creed I just want to go the distance and so that's why he worked so hard and did such a great job in working and preparing for the fight why because his eyes were up and he had a goal in mind and Paul is wanting that for the Thessalonians and God wants that for you and me I know that things seem very blurry right now and they seem iffy and we just don't know what's happening with our jobs with the market with the economy with health global we just don't know and that can breed fear in us and so Paul says lists and get your eyes up because there is something there is something that's coming and you can be certain and that is the return of Christ number two Jesus return will be sudden so be ready Jesus return will be sudden so be right now in this next batch of scriptures in Chapter five Paul gives us a couple of metaphors that are so appropriate to what we're experiencing he describes it a couple of different ways two descriptions to be specific number one it will be unpredictable and without warning the return of Jesus will be unpredictable and without warning now if you hear that Jesus is coming what's the next question out of your mom mouth when a lot of men and women have made a lot of money over the years because they've written books about when Jesus is gonna come my first my first role as a preaching it was in Corning California just two hours north of here at First Baptist Church and I was 28 years old 1987 and I was brand-new to the fellowship and I get in there I set my office up in about a week after I got there a dear old sister in Christ who loves the Lord she came in and she says I want you to read this book because I think it's I think it's right I think it's true and the book was entitled 88 reasons why Jesus will come in 1988 and I read all 88 and it sounded legit it sounded like the guy did his math he looked at the signs all that stuff and I looked at it and about a week later she asked me hey what you think about that and I says you know what I'm so honored to be your pastor I'm so grateful but but because someone is predicting that Jesus will come back in 1988 I'm thinking that's the one year he won't come back we're not meant to know when but what Paul is telling us in what he's encouraging us to do is listen it's unpredictable and it's gonna come without warning look at verse 1 of chapter 5 of 1st Thessalonians 5 now concerning the times and the seasons brothers you have no need to have anything written to you for you yourselves for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night meaning we don't know imagine this you go out to your front step and get your newspaper which probably nobody ever does anymore you get your newspaper and there's a note it's stapled to the newspaper and the note says dear homeowner I'm a thief and I've got on my schedule to be at your house at 3:15 tomorrow morning and so I'd appreciate if the door was unlocked if all of the appliances all the electronics run plugged and all of your cash and your valves on the kitchen table because that I'll be in and out in 15 minutes you'll never know I was there is that what happens no a thief by virtue of being a thief comes unannounced and you just don't know when it's gonna come that that's the whole idea of being a feat a thief but it's predictive unpredictable and it's without warning think about this what were you doing for those of your old enough what were you doing on September 11th 2001 I know exactly what I was doing when everything broke loose and and this world changed I was driving to my office in northern Washington it's about eight mile drive lone country road listening to the radio and a bulletin came on the radio that says an airplane had flown into in the world one of the towers of the World Trade Center and I my immediate thought was oh that's that's too bad probably someone learning how to fly or they lost control of their two-seater Cessna and flew into the building that's that's too bad that's really tragic I get to the office and there's a TV at the office and my assistant was on and I said boy did you hear about the tower yeah it's tragic it's too bad you know thousands of people are probably gonna died from manga what I mean it was just a little airplane wasn't it's just know she's it was a jetliner and about that same time that we're talking about this the second one flew into the tower everything changed and the reason why that was such a shock to us is because nobody saw it coming there was no warning it was unpredictable we had no clue as to what was going to happen on that particular Tuesday morning September 11th 2001 the return of Jesus Christ will be that way it will be without warning and it will be unpredictable we won't see it coming until it happens that's the return of Christ and so Paul is warning us and letting us know about that but then a second descriptor of this is interesting as well it will be inevitable and without escape it will be inevitable and without escape look at verse 3 while people are saying there is peace and security then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman and they will not escape we'll talk a little bit more about this in a few minutes but the metaphor that we're talking about now is the pregnant woman what what what's with that I mean I when you're when you're thinking about a pregnant woman you look at the return of Christ in the same way that you look at a woman who's pregnant what what is Paul meaning by that what is he trying to get at well one thing that I learned a long time ago you never ask a woman who's pregnant is you ask them are you ready to give birth because what's her response gonna be do I have a choice when you see a woman who's pregnant you know one thing whether she wants it or not that baby's coming out it is it is inevitable it's going to happen that is for sure you can take that again to the bank that that is what's going to happen and and Paul is saying the return of Christ is going to be the same way it's not if Jesus is going to return that's like saying if she gives birth but rather when she gives birth it is when Jesus returns it is inevitable it's going to happen and there's no escape there's no avoidance when you look at a woman who's pregnant you can't say is there any way you can get out of this is there any way you can escape and still have the baby no it's got to happen that's what's gonna happen she can't escape from the issue of having the child Paul is saying that's the same way with return of Christ it is inevitable and there's no way that you can escape now again this might be the part where you're kind of frustrated because I'd still like to know when I don't know about you but I'm very grateful that Paul does not give us a time stamp I'm grateful that Jesus didn't give us a time he gave us things to look for signs that point to that but he didn't give us a day and a time think about like this let's just say that we find an ancient document that's been validated to be the Word of God and somewhere along the way an apostle has written Jesus is going to return may 10th 2025 that's when mark it down get on your calendar we've got the authority of apostolic witness by Peter or Paul or John or on the other apostles it's been validated it's been authenticated this is the word of God and God is saying that Jesus is going to come back may 10th 2012 I know myself well enough that I probably won't take that as seriously until around 2024 or 24 and a half and then all of a sudden I'm gonna amp up I might read my Bible more I might witness more I might rack up my credit cards more I don't know I better be doing things differently if I knew what was gonna happen students think about this let's say in your homeschooling right now your teacher says hey here's this huge project that you have to do and you've got three weeks the due date is three weeks from today to get that done now what are you hearing the teachers say you're hearing the teachers say it's three weeks do but what are you hearing in your mind you're hearing I've got two weeks in six days before I start the project I think is to our benefit that we don't know the time or the day we don't even know the sequence of the events all we know is and we can take it to the bank that Jesus is going to return he will return but then there's something else that we can learn from the return of Christ Jesus return will be decisive so be assured we're not gonna take the time right now to read the remaining verses of chapter five leading up to China versus but notice in that passage there are all these contrasts light and dark sober and drunk awake and sleep why is Paul drawing those contrasts he says because when Jesus returns there will not be no middle ground there will be nothing what this says well I could give or take Jesus I just don't know I just don't know what's gonna happen I'm not really sure about that I want to be very very serious here because this this may determine the rest of your eternal life not what I say but what God's Word is insinuating to you if you go back to verse three of chapter five there's a little phrase in there that I told you we're gonna come back - and it's this then when Jesus returns then sudden destruction will come upon them then sudden destruction will come upon them the the message that we're delivering to you now and the message that arkaid church wants to continue to deliver is that God is a God of grace God is a God of mercy God is a God of renewal and forgiveness no matter what you've done no matter where you've been no matter what's been done to you the offer of God's grace and forgiveness and renewal is open to you right now that is an offer that he makes and he the only thing he requires of you is to do what you do with any other gift you receive the gift by faith you receive the gift saying I trust that I'm forgiven I'm trust I'm trusting in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ that God will forgive my sins because of what Jesus has done for me I'm trusting that the Bible says when that happens you become a follower of Christ a disciple a Christian but may I say when Jesus returns he is not bringing a message of grace he's not bringing a message of mercy he is not bringing a message of forgiveness he is bringing a message of judgment and wrath in other words the offer of grace and mercy and forgiveness and renewal it has an expiration date there will be a day it's as certain as Jesus being alive that he will return and he will not return to offer you grace he will not return to offer you forgiveness that's been offered to you already and you rejected that now he is coming for judgment and destruction and wrath and I know that that's so difficult for us to think about because we think about Jesus and in this manger and then Jesus week bleeding on a cross and then Jesus teaching people and and doing all kinds of miracles and we think of Jesus rising from the grave and even ascending to the Father it's very difficult for us to think of Jesus and any other light except that but the Bible does not let us to end our version or a vision of Jesus with just that so I want to read to you a passive scripture the reference will come up here on the wall revelation 19 I just want to read this to you and I just listen to the words listen to john's vision of jesus beginning at verse 11 i wanted to read it okay just listen then i saw heaven opened and behold a white horse the one sitting on it is called faithful and true and in righteousness he judges and makes war his eyes are like a flame of fire and on his head are many diadem's and he has a name written that no one knows but himself he is clothed in a robe dipped in blood and the name by which he is called is the word of God and the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen white and pure were following him on white horses from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nation's and he will rule them with a rod of iron he will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty memorize that one he will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written king of kings and Lord of lords that is a far cry from baby Jesus meek and mild lying in a manger that is a far cry from Jesus Christ walking on water healing lepers healing blind people that's a far cry from Jesus bleeding and dying on the cross it's a far cry from Jesus seeing Jesus his resurrected body this is Christ and all of his glory and all of his might and friend it is absolutely vital that you understand what is going on here because Jesus is returning he is coming back and for those who receive him for those who believe in him it will be day a day of incredible reunion where we meet our Lord our king in the air and we come back with him in victory onto the earth I I love to allow my mind to just dream what that looks like where we meet him in the air and then we come back setting up his kingdom it's kind of a picture of a Roman general coming back from war and the people in the cities are able to run out and run back in with the king that's the image that John wants it to have that Paul wants us to have is there we're running out to meet the king so are we gonna come back with him in all his victory but there will also be people who are not looking forward to the king they look at that in fear in anger and hatred because they see a king coming back in judgment and wrath one of the reasons why arcade Church exists is because we believe that when Jesus comes it will be very decisive if you do not decide to believe in Jesus Christ right now then that decision will be made for you when he returns the offer for you is open if you believe that it's certain that Jesus Christ came born of a virgin came perfect holy into this world if you believe that Jesus Christ performed incredible signs and wonders phenomenal miracles and no one else could perform if you believe that what he was teaching was right and true if you believe that he went to the cross and died on your sins and you're certain about that if you believe that he certainly rose from the grave and if you believe that he's certainly ascended to the Father then friend it is not a stretch for you to know for certain that he will return and that caused us to lift our eyes up not in fear oh oh no the king is coming but oh I can't wait for the King to come the early church they had an expression called Maranatha just simply means come Lord Jesus please come Lord Jesus and if anything is done with this Kovan 19 shelter-in-place it has caused us as believers to lift our eyes up on the horizon and say is it today is it tomorrow no matter what Lord Jesus we look forward to your returning we're ready find us faithful that offer is open to you right now if you're not a Christian if you're listening and you're thinking why do I believe this why is this why is this resonating in my heart and in my mind what's going on it is this it is the Spirit of Christ working in your heart and mind to break down all of the obstacles that have kept you from Jesus all these years could be the history of your sin could be a history of abuse could be just pride or arrogance and for whatever reason all of those props are being pulled out and all of this talk about the return of Christ seems to resonate with you that is the Spirit of Christ in all of his power working in you and all he says all he bid you to do is believe and you will receive joy during this time of pandemic a lot of the things that we have propped up to cover our fear and our anxiety because we're a fear we're afraid of something in that closet or were afraid of something under the bed we're just afraid and we so desperately want God to come and just lie down with us and so that we can abide with him and he has given us these assurances he came and he left but he's coming back and may you be ready by receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord let's pray Lord God thank you for all that you've given to us you could have you could have left us in the dark you could have told us that I might or might not come back I haven't decided yet you could have done all that and we still would believe in you and trust you but father you've given us the authority of your word and you have said you have promised that you will return and so for those of us who love you who have professed our faith in you thank you we look forward to that day the father if there's anyone watching and listening that does not or will not believe in you bring them to the end of themselves father they may know you and see you for all your beauty and all your glory now because there will be a day when those who do not bow the knee to you will see you in all of your glory and all of your wrath and all of your judgment so father thank you that you have warned us and assured us at the same time we pray these things in the holy name of Christ may the God of endurance and encouragement grain to live in harmony with one another that together with one voice you may glorify the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you and we all say together for the glory of God I love you have a great day [Music] all right did you get sermons bingo or maybe sermons blackout that's a fun way to keep track of what pastor Craig is saying right well we are so glad you joined us today and if you are thinking about Jesus coming back maybe the question that pops in your head is is he coming back for me you know salvation is a free gift you just have to believe it and receive the gift of salvation from our Savior and if that is something that you are in the process of doing are you done today please send us a text text the word arcade follow two four eight four eight four eight a pastor will be giving you a call very soon but then if you are a believer of Christ ponder this this week how does knowing Christ is returning affect my life today we're kind of in this in between right so think about that Mull it over as you're going on walks as a family or you know zooming off of your bike down the trail ponder what does that mean for me today in the meantime we love you we miss you we can't wait to see you again have a wonderful week [Music] [Music] [Music] you you

Channel: Arcade Church

Views: 739

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Arcade Church

Id: Exv-sxUy1cc

Length: 75min 26sec (4526 seconds)

Published: Sun May 10 2020